Golf Club Biella

Golf Club Biella – known locally as “Le Betulle” – is situated to the north east of Turin in Valcarozza, one of the most evocative and serene spots in northern Italy. It’s here, back in the late 1950s, that Harry Colt’s associate John Morrison designed this remarkable 18-hole course on behalf of the three founding members of the golf club.

Having acquired a variety of small plots of land from dozens of local landowners in and around the village of Magnano, the club began building the course in late 1957, and work continued under the architect’s supervision for a couple of years until he was forced to retire due to ill health.

Fortunately, Morrison’s design associates at the time, Commander John Harris and Donald Harradine, oversaw the completion of the project. Indeed, Harris would return almost a decade later to redesign several greens and advise on other course improvements.

In this edited extract from the book Golf Courses of the World author Geoffrey Giles writes: “A golf course does not have to be beautiful to be great, but beauty is a great bonus. At Biella the course runs over superbly rolling country through great forests of birches – le betulle. It could almost be an English heathland course.There are superb mountain vistas too and a round here in the autumn, with the leaves golden brown and fiery red and the mountains covered in gleaming, freshly fallen snow, is one of life’s great treats. Take time to enjoy the surroundings but you will need to concentrate fully on the task in hand for there is no denying the demands made by this exacting layout.”

Today the course has been extended to 6,497 metres from the back tees with par set at 73 so Biella is a challenge. And once you factor in strategically placed bunkers, rocky outcrops, fairways framed by forest, a sprinkling of water in the shape of streams and ponds then you can understand why Biella is such a respected layout.

With almost every non par three hole doglegging left or right off the tee, the course is certainly entertaining and varied, none more so than at the par five 16th, where the vista of the rugged Alpine foothills opens up from the raised tee. Indeed, some think it’s worth the trip to play Biella just for this tee shot alone.